Dutch museums find Nazi-looted art

Associated Press

Published 8:05 pm, Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Photo: Associated Press

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This photo provided by Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, shows the 1921 painting Odalisque by Henri Matisse. Dutch museums have identified 139 pieces of art, including dozens of paintings, one by Matisse and many by Dutch painters of varying renown such as Impressionist Isaac Israels, as likely having been taken forcibly from Jewish owners. (AP Photo/Van Abbemuseum) less

This photo provided by Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, shows the 1921 painting Odalisque by Henri Matisse. Dutch museums have identified 139 pieces of art, including dozens of ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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This undated photo provided by Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, shows the 1919 painting Proun P23, no. 6 by El Lissitzky. Dutch museums have identified in their collections 139 pieces of art, including dozens of paintings, one by Matisse and many by Dutch painters of varying renown such as Impressionist Isaac Israels, likely having been taken forcibly from Jewish owners during the Nazi era. (AP Photo/Van Abbemuseum) less

This photo provided by Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, shows the 1909 painting Image with Houses by Wassily Kandinsky. Dutch museums have identified 139 pieces of art, including dozens of paintings, one by Matisse and many by Dutch painters of varying renown such as Impressionist Isaac Israels, as likely having been taken forcibly from Jewish owners. (AP Photo/Stedelijk Museum) less

This photo provided by Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013, shows the 1909 painting Image with Houses by Wassily Kandinsky. Dutch museums have identified 139 pieces of art, including dozens ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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Turkish officials wait outside a passenger train before the inauguration of tunnel called the Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides with a railway tunnel set to open Tuesday, completing a plan initially proposed by an Ottoman sultan about 150 years ago. The Marmaray, is among a number of large infrastructure projects under the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that have helped boost the economy but also have provoked a backlash of public protest.(AP Photo) less

Turkish officials wait outside a passenger train before the inauguration of tunnel called the Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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People wait inside a train to cross the Bosporus after the inauguration of Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides with a railway tunnel set to open Tuesday, completing a plan initially proposed by an Ottoman sultan about 150 years ago. The tunnel, called the Marmaray, is among a number of large infrastructure projects under the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that have helped boost the economy but also have provoked a backlash of public protest. (AP Photo) less

People wait inside a train to cross the Bosporus after the inauguration of Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides with a ... more

Photo: Associated Press

Image 6 of 6

Two Japanese technicians walk inside a train for the inauguration of the tunnel called Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides with a railway tunnel set to open Tuesday, completing a plan initially proposed by an Ottoman sultan about 150 years ago. The Marmaray, is among a number of large infrastructure projects under the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that have helped boost the economy but also have provoked a backlash of public protest.(AP Photo) less

Two Japanese technicians walk inside a train for the inauguration of the tunnel called Marmaray in Istanbul, Turkey, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2013. Turkey is for the first time connecting its European and Asian sides ... more

Photo: Associated Press

Dutch museums find Nazi-looted art

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Amsterdam --

A major investigation into whether art hanging in Dutch museums may have once been Nazi loot has yielded an unexpectedly large result: 139 suspect works, including ones by masters like Matisse, Klee and Kandinsky.

The bombshell announcement Tuesday by the museums raises the question of why it has taken them nearly 70 years to examine their collections in a systematic way after World War II - and suggests that even more looted art may emerge from other countries that haven't yet done so.

The tainted art involved 69 paintings, including French artist Henri Matisse's 1921 "Odalisque" painting of a half-nude reclining woman, which hangs at Amsterdam's Stedelijk Museum, one of the country's top tourist draws.

All Dutch museums that hold art from before the war participated in the review. They have identified names of 20 definite looting victims and linked them with 61 of the works. The museums said they are in the process of contacting or seeking the heirs, including those of Jewish art dealer Albert Stern, the deceased owner of the Matisse.

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